Clock Tower

Clock Tower is one of the foundational titles of the survival horror genre, and its PlayStation release brought this originally Japanese classic beyond its home market, where it gradually built its own reputation. The player takes on the role of a girl named Jennifer, who along with her friends finds herself in a mysterious mansion and must survive being hunted by a terrifying killer nicknamed Scissorman, armed with giant scissors and able to appear in practically any room without warning. Unlike most survival horrors, the game contains no weapons or direct combat — the only defense is running, hiding, and quick decision-making under pressure, which instills in the player a persistent sense of helplessness and vulnerability unusual for action titles of the time.

The gameplay is built on point-and-click style controls combined with the tension of constant threat, as Scissorman can appear practically at any moment and the player must improvise hiding spots or use items to slow him down or lure him away from the heroine. The game offers several different endings depending on the player's decisions and speed of reaction, which increased replay value as well as the tension of each playthrough, since a single mistake could mean the heroine's death. The sound design, built on silence broken by sudden sound effects and the metallic clacking of scissors, is part of what still makes the game's atmosphere unpleasantly effective even decades later.

At release, Clock Tower was praised for its unconventional approach to horror, built on helplessness rather than strength, which set it apart from more action-oriented competitors full of weapons and ammunition, such as the then-dominant Resident Evil. Its influence is visible in later survival horrors built around fleeing and hiding rather than fighting, and it's still mentioned today as one of the genre's most significant pioneers, whose legacy modern horror adventures continue to build on.

Why play it: For its unconventional take on horror built on helplessness and flight rather than armed combat, with a noticeable influence on later survival horror adventures.